The Golden Tiger
by Kimmie G914
Summary: After Ren is kidnapped by Lokesh, some strange things start to go down, including a new friend that Ren meets in Lokesh's prison. A new character, a new prophecy, a clue to the fifth gift, and, a whole lot of, "Who is it?"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

Stuck and in Pain

As I sat in my cage, I thought of Kelsey. I missed her. I loved her, but I was probably never going to see her again.

I tried to fall asleep, but after being freshly beaten, there was no comfortable way.

I sighed, and closed my eyes to rest them for a while.

Suddenly, there was a bright light, and I opened my eyes to find the face a beautiful Indian woman.

Her hair was dark black, her skin a soft pale pink, and she reminded me of Kelsey.

"Dhiren, I have a proposal for you. It was a request from Kelsey."

That's when I realized it wasn't Kelsey, but the Indian goddess Durga.

"What?" I asked, anxious to get out of here.

"She has asked me to keep you safe. And I will. But, there is only one way to do that, and you have to agree to it," she stated calmly.

"And what is it?" I asked, uncertain if I was willing.

"I will have to completely erase all of your memories of Kelsey."

I was devastated, heartbroken, and unwilling. "Never."

"I will give you time to think, but if you refuse, I cannot guarantee your safety and well-being. Kelsey would be, devastated. She may even abandon the mission," Durga said, and she vanished with a blink of an enchantingly beautiful eye.

I was able to fall asleep pretty easily after that.

I had a dream. But, it felt too real to be a dream.

I felt the presence of someone else, so I asked, "Kells?"

I heard her whisper, "Yes, it's me."

"I- I can't see you," I whispered.

She moved into the light, and I could see her clearly. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I was definitely in love with her. She had dark brown hair pulled into a pony tail running down her back. She had a beautiful tan, and I just melted.

"Is that better?" she whispered hesitantly.

"Yes," I slid closer to her, and I believe she could see me, because she gasped and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Ren, what did he do to you?" she pleaded, looking very sad and vulnerable.

I felt a small trickle of blood slide down my face. She stretched her hand out and wiped away the blood, then she gingerly touched my temple.

She started to say something, but began to cry instead.

"_Priyatama, _don't cry." I pressed my hand on her cheek. She started kissing my palm.

I began to remember everything we'd been through. How she'd rejected her feelings for me at first, then she accepted me, then she rejected me again, and she flew back to her hometown in Oregon.

I was so lonely, so hurt, when she left I'd worn a trench in my carpet in my room. I'd been so depressed, my brother, Kishan, pushed me to follow her to Oregon.

She accepted me again, and I was so happy.

Then, I was captured trying to save her from Lokesh, when he came to capture her. That's also when we found out she had lightening powers. She can shoot lightening out of her hand!

"I can't bear to see you like this! We're coming for you! Just please, _please _hold on a little longer!"

I couldn't look at her for what I had to say. "I don't think I can."

She seemed outraged. "Don't say that! _Never _say that! I'm coming, and I know what to do!"

We talk longer, and finally I mentioned Durga.

"Don't give up!" she cried, "Not when we're so close!"

I looked up at her again, "There is an option I could consider."

She looked at me with a new fighting spark of hope in her eyes. "What? What is it?"

"Durga," I paused briefly, trying to decide how to word this, "has offered her protection,"

Kelsey's face seemed to light up, but I had to keep talking, "But, she asks a heavy price. It's not worth it."

"Anything is worth your life, Ren! Take it! It doesn't matter what it is as long as you survive!"

"But, _Kelsey_." I pleaded. I needed her to hear me, so that she'd know what I was losing.

She hushed me and whispered, "Do what you have to, to survive."

I realized that Lokesh could return any minute. "You must go."

She nodded sadly, and as she turned away I whispered, "Wait."

She turned back, the spark of hope growing into an open flame, "Before you go, will you… kiss me?"

I knelt in front of her, and as I accidently put some of the weight on my bad knee, I gasped, but I ignored the pain.

We had a tender moment.

She began to cry again, so I recited some poetry to calm her down.

I realized what I was going to lose, so I whispered, "I _won't _let him find you, Kelsey. No matter what."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Nothing, my sweet. Don't worry," I smoothed her hair a little bit.

I told her it was time to leave again, and as she turned to go, I called her back again, and I whispered, "No matter what happens, _please _remember that I love you, _hridaya patni_.

"I promise," she whisperd, and as she left, I woke up crying.

Lokesh opened the door at that very second, and opened the cage door.

He yanked me to my feet and brought me right up to his face as he whispered, "I've got a new way to play today, Tiger!"

And as he dragged me away, I whispered, "My _iadala_."

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><p><strong>Hey, guys! I hope you enjoy'd my newest story, and I'm sorry, I would have put an intro at the top, but something wasn't working, so, yeah. Well, thanks for reading! Bye!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Stranger in Danger

I broke a couple more fingers on my way to a large, bright clearing at the end of a dark hallway.

There were two machines that looked exactly the same. The best way I can think to describe them is that thing at the end of football fields that Kelsey showed me, only instead of yellow, they were white, and they had chains on the top and bottom. They were also much smaller. One was smaller than the other.

I started thinking of Kelsey again.

_I will not tell him, __no matter what he does to me here. _I thought determinedly.

Lokesh threw me into the room, and I landed on my back and my worst knee. I shouted out in pain, and Lokesh laughed.

He walked up and to me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, and pulled a knife out of his inner coat pocket and pressed the flat side of the short blade to my cheek.

"I wonder what your blood would look like splattered all over this floor?" Lokesh snarled ominously.

I didn't say anything. I just stared back at him, as I always do.

He got frustrated, and threw me.

I crashed into the larger of the two machines. Lokesh grabbed me and lifted me with his magic, and he hooked me up to the chains on the weird white device.

I stared cruelly at him as the last cuffed chain clipped around my ankle. _Curse his magic! _I thought. I wasn't going to tell Lokesh anything.

"Now," he teased as he paced back and forth in front of me, swinging his knife around every time he turned. "We can do this, the easy way," he turned to me and walked up to me, and placed the blade under my eye and snarled, "Or the hard way."

Nervous, but strong, I spit in his face.

He growled and backed up, wiping the logy of his nose. "You fool!" he shouted. "I hate you!" And he ran up and slashed his knife ruthlessly right next to my left eye.

I was already beginning to heal, because the cut really wasn't that deep. Lokesh smiled wickedly as he saw my rapidly working skin.

He walked up to me and grabbed my chin and held it up so he could see my face work.

Amused, he slashed another mark in my forehead, which also began to heal quickly.

"I don't think you know what a favor I've done for you," he smiled.

I wrenched my head away, and looked at the wall.

"Dhiren, I will find out who she is eventually, so just make it easier on yourself and tell me who she is. I don't understand why you hate yourself so much!" he teased, and smiled again.

His smiled died as I shook my head vigorously. "I will never tell."

"At least you said something!" he snarled. Then he whispered, "Too bad it wasn't helpful."

My face was healed, and Lokesh walked over to his wall of tools, and picked up his spiked whip.

He shifted it from hand to hand and whispered, "Too bad, though, because this isn't for you. I have someone else. Someone I cursed, not too long ago. I'd say she's about, what's her name, ah, yes, Kelsey's age?" he smiled, and for a minute my face fell. _Was Kelsey here?_

"I thought a nice way to torture you, was to torture another." He smiled viciously, and he stormed of, wheeling the other white device after him.

It only took him a minute to wheel back a struggling young girl, who looked nealy nothing like Kelsey.

But she wasn't unappealing.

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><p><strong>Ta-da! But, seriously, there is something wrong with my computer! A new POV will come into play next chapter! Can you guess who it is? Hm? ;)!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys, I finally got my top thing to work! Yay! I hope you enjoy chapter 3, new POV! XD!**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Why Does Weird Stuff Always Happen to Me?

I struggled violently against the strong cuffed chains as the psycho man wheeled me into the clearing, where I saw a very handsome man with amazing eyes staring at me in shock.

I glared at him, and went back to my struggling.

A small strand of my dark brown hair fell into my face, and I blew it back behind me.

I started screaming and making lots of noise, and the fat creep got so annoyed he unfurled his whip with a sickening smack that would make an average person cringe.

I'd only been here for a couple days. My last kidnappers were heaven compared to this mess.

I'd been taken from my parents as a toddler, and I'd been sold and stolen every since. A day didn't go by without different people trying to get there hands on me.

All I remember from my young years was pain. I was beaten and abused until I bled. Different people beat me in different spots.

They'd always stop after I'd started bleeding, and I don't remember why. I guess they all just had something about seeing babies cry and bleed.

As I grew up, my body became harder and harder for people to get to split, so the pain only greatened.

This was just about the thousandth person who'd I'd been with, but by far he was the most cruel.

I'd always been given _something _to eat. Like bread, of even frozen water, but this guy just let me sit. I've had to resort in eating my skin, or even finger nails to get by. I once bit a guard's finger, I was so desperate.

I was snapped out of memory lane by an excruciating pain in my left calf, and I couldn't help but cry out.

The crazy man laughed and turned to the man and said, "All you have to do is say something about her and she will be spared, Dhiren! It's up to you!"

"What kind of name is Dhiren?" I asked, confused. _Where is this guy from, anyway? _I thought.

"You can call me Ren." He said calmly, ignoring the crazy fat guy.

"SHUT UP!" he shouted, and he whipped us both four times on the legs.

My cuts weren't bleeding, so I had nothing to worry about. But when I looked over at, Ren? Well, he was healing. _Already_. I was going to ask him about that later. If I got a chance.

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><p>Four hours went by, and the man finally said, "I'll be back tomorrow. I'll be leaving you here!" he pointed at, Ren, and said, "And thanks to him, it'll only get worse!" and he stormed off, out of the room, down the other hallway, and disappeared.<p>

_It's already night time? _I thought. I decided to talk to Ren, see if he knew anything about this guy, or why I'm here, or why he's here, or something.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," I whispered back.

I could sense that he was looking at me, so I looked up and stared at his colbalt blue eyes. I'd never seen eyes like those before.

"You know my name," he said, "It seems only fair that I should know yours, hm?" he smiled playfully.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Not in a million years."

"I understand," his voice was deep, but not too deep.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"I'm surprised you don't want to know more about Lokesh," he said.

"You mean the fat crazy guy?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Yes, the fat crazy guy."

"Yeah, what's his deal, anyway?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said.

The way he said, "I don't know," I could tell he was hiding something. But, I decided to keep quiet about it.

"Well, he'd better figure it out, because he's really pissing me off!" I said angrily.

"Whoa, you don't need to get mad at me!" he laughed.

"Sorry," I laughed, too.

"I'm starting to get very interested in you," he said. "And you're eyes."

I blushed and looked down. "Yeah, what's so great about'em?"

"Well," he started, and I looked back up and him, frustrated, "I've never seen eyes so beautifully colored before."

"Well," I retorted violently, "have you looked in the mirror lately? Our's look the same, so get over it!"

I was mad, and he was offended, but I couldn't help myself, "Yours are just blue! Mine are different! What does it matter?"

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"No!" I said, and looked down again.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because!" I looked back up at him and I started talking about my rough childhood.

"So you're used to this. Why are you being hostile?" he asked soothingly.

"Because!" I shouted. "No one has ever cared before! I'm not used to letting people in."

"You don't need to let me in. I just have one question," he asked politely, trying not to set me off again.

"What?" I asked, tired.

"Has Lokesh ever… used magic on you?" he asked.

"He's sparkled pink stuff on me, but nothing happened. I guess that was magic. I just thought he was being annoying." I sighed.

"Um," he said, and I stared at him.

"Remember this name for me, will you?" he asked shyly.

"Okay," I said.

His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, and he stared at me and whispered, "Kelsey Hayes."

I stared at him, puzzled.

"Don't say it. Ever. I just, need you to remember it for me. Can you do that?" he asked desperately.

"Sure," I sighed, and he smiled.

He fell asleep soon after that, and I slipped into my half conscious state. I can hear, and I'm alert, and I can open my eyes at any moment, but I can also control my dreams. Do whatever I want. Be whatever I want. I loved that.

The "dream" started out as it always did. A huge white room. I imagined myself a mirror, and I walked up to it.

I looked like me. Extremely dark brown hair that could be black, with thick curls, my tan skin, my limited freckles across my nose, my soft pink lips, and my long eye lashes on the tips of my eyelids, which blink and cover massive silver eyes with green specks here and there.

Nothing had changed.

When I was a child, my eyes were smaller and changed colors frequently, and I was harder to identify. When I turned fourteen, they settled on a hazel color. When I turned eighteen, they turned into the silver color with green specks. The day, Lokesh, sprinkled pink dust on me, they doubled in size, and they became the size of Ren's.

I removed the mirror and created a forest at night, and sat on a log. I picked up a stick and started pushing the rich brown dirt around.

I was lonely. For the first time in my life, I was really lonely. So, I imagined Ren was sitting next to me, and we started talking.

After what felt like and hour went by, I heard the booming voice of Lokesh and Ren, yelling and screaming at each other. I ended my dream by opening my eyes, and Lokesh was holding a knife to Ren's stomach.

I yawned and whispered, "Really? Now?"

I guess Lokesh heard me, because he turned on me and snarled, "You don't get to make decisions. I do! I know what you're worth! I don't even think _you know _what you're worth! So, I won't waste you. Not yet. But DO NOT TEMPT ME!" he bellowed in the end, and I just laughed.

"Are you kidding me?" I looked up at Ren. "Is he _serious_?"

Lokesh looked extremely mad and I asked, "Okay then, if I'm worth so much, then tell me why, and how much?"

"It's not you!" he said viciously, "You're soul is expendable. It's your _blood _that's important." He smiled viciously. "Don't tempt me."

Ren looked worried. I just rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

Lokesh spent his entire day hacking and chopping and striking Ren, so I basically got the day off.

I felt sad that Ren had to go through this, but there was nothing I could do. I was chained up, remember?

At the end of the day, Lokesh unchained us, and moved my cage next to Ren's and stalked off, annoyed.

I decided to go straight to sleep. "Goodnight, Ren."

"Remember the name. Especially tonight," he whispered. "Goodnight."

I woke up in the middle of the night, and I looked over at Ren's cage to see how he was doing, and some crazy bright light as swirling around his head.

I wanted to scream out, but I was too shocked. I just couldn't make myself do it.

I watched, transfixed, as the light faded and a voice whispered, "She has been blocked. You are safe."

_She? _I thought, and as I fell back to sleep, I wondered, _does it mean Kelsey? _

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><p><strong>TA-DA! And you guys <em>still <em>don't know what her name is! Well, I'm also a little bummed because I just got my first B in 3 years, so, I'm sad. But, you know, move on. **


	4. Chapter 4

**YAY! It keeps working! Anyway, hope you enjoy chapter 4! I won't be able to update until the day after Easter Sunday (if you celebrate Easter than you know what day I'm refering to!) because I'm going away to a place that doesn't have internet, but that's okay, I'll make it up to you guys by adding 2 more chpaters, both action! With lots of screaming. And yelling. Yay! Sounds good, right? Right! Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

And It Just Keeps Getting Weirder!

I woke up the next morning, sat up, stretched, and yawned.

I looked over at Ren, and saw that he was still asleep. _Does he remember what happened yesterday night? _I thought. _Did he even know in the first place? _

Well, I wasn't ready for my turn in the torture machine, but everybody goes through it at some point in their lives, right?

Lokesh's servant came and unlocked my cage door, grabbed me under the arm, and tried to drag me back to the clearing.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, seriously shocked. "I can walk!"

He tightened his grip on my arm as I stood up, then he shoved my hands behind my back and shoved me down the hallway while I muttered, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I can walk on my own! OW!"

I heard Ren shout from behind, "Hello?"

He was talking to me. He still didn't know my name. "I'm fine!" I shouted back to him.

I was hooked up to that machine again, and Lokesh came in and decided to mess around with me. A lot.

He whipped me several times on my legs and thighs, but because of the heat, I'd been wearing booty shorts the day he's taken me here.

My green tank top was tied on the side at the waist, and I wasn't wearing shoes. I'd never had shoes. I had socks once, but never shoes.

He started whipping my shoulders, and then he shouted, "You wanted to know why you're so special? Well, I'll SHOW YOU!"

He whipped my forearm so hard I had to cry out, and I looked over at it, and it was bleeding.

The hot red liquid oozed and poured out of the deep gash, and I realized it was just like any other cut.

Lokesh was still looking happy and delighted in this freak way, but all of a sudden his mouth opened in a evil smiled and he whispered, "I knew it was you."

Puzzled, I looked back at my arm, and to my shock and even terror, my blood wasn't just blood anymore. My blood was mixed with liquid gold as it poured down my arm and dripped onto the floor, and it glistened and shined.

He smiled greedily at it, and as we waited, the liquid started to solidify on the ground, and it turned into a chunk of solid gold.

He picked up the chunk, which had seemed to find a way to solidify without any blood in it, and he wiped the bottom of the chunk, which was dripping in blood, on my leg, and walked around staring at it.

"You _could _have wiped it on the floor you know!" I said, disgusted, "not on me!"

"Well, it is your blood, isn't it?" he snapped.

"Fine, whatever!" I replied angrily.

"Your blood does more than turn into chunks off gold, buy the way, girl," he smiled greedily, as if he was thinking of all the possibilities. "It can heal wounds, too. Watch!"

He walked swiftly up to me and rubbed my gold and red blood all over my wounds.

I shouted out in pain, and he snarled, "Would you just relax? I'm helping you!"

He backed away, and I watched as my arm mended itself instantly, and all of my blood and all of the gold that hadn't solidified yet, evaporated.

"My arm still hurts," I grumbled.

"SHUT UP!" he whipped me again, and I shouted out in pain.

_Man, _I thought desperately, _am I _ever _going to get out of here?_ Then Lokesh called back in his assistant, and he unchained me, and roughly walked me back to my cage, next to Ren's.

I decided to ask him a question. "Ren, what do you remember about last night?"

"I slept. If I'm supposed to remember something about you, then I apologize." He said cunningly.

I blushed, then fumed, "What are you getting at? Nothing happened between us! I was just worried for a minute! I guess I shouldn't have been."

"Whoa, whoa, I didn't mean to offend you. You are so pretty, but stress leaves an unattractive frown on your face. I'll do whatever it takes to make you smile." He smiled at me.

"Are you?" I asked, and I smiled at him, then looked away and whispered, "Unbelievable."

"What's unbelievable?" he asked.

"Okay, what is it with you and Lokesh?" I looked back at him. "You can hear every little thing! What's wrong with you guys?"

"It's a long story for me, but for him, I don't know," Ren laid down on the cage floor.

"I've got time," I said, and smiled expectantly as he raised his eyebrows at me.

He just laughed and whispered, "Goodnight."

I laughed and replied, "Goodnight."

_So he doesn't know, _I thought as I slipped into my special state of dreaming. _Poor girl. I wonder who she is, anyway? Maybe I'll meet her._

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><p><strong>Okay, now, vote for me, will you? How may people out there would like to see a girl fight in chapter 6? Let me know in the reviews! Or, on a poll on my profile, I don't really care! Thanks, guys! <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Sorry, but I couldn't keep to my promise of Chapter 6. It'll probably be Chapter 8, and at the very most, Chapter 9. I'll be closing the poll soon, so let's see what's up! Okay, well, I hope you like this new chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

The Big Escape

The next day was pure pain and torture. Since Ren was still chained up right in front of me, I couldn't heal myself, plus my arms weren't free, so I couldn't rub my gold blood on my wounds.

I tried my hardest to make sure he didn't see any gold drip from my veins, and I tried especially hard not to get any on the floor. I did lots of twists, and Ren seemed to be worried about me.

When Lokesh left the room, he would always ask me what was wrong, and I'd simply lie and say, "Just doing some stretches. Don't you feel all knotted up and tense from being in those cages? This is good for your back!"

I was an extremely talented liar, but this was something different. I felt a little harder to let these just roll off my tongue, because when I try to talk to him, and tell him lies, I can't think of any. So, I reuse the same one over and over, because, like I said, when I try to lie to him, I just, dry up.

I was some how able to keep my blood off the floor, but everyday it was more of a challenge, because there was always more and more blood, which meant more and more gold to hide.

I wasn't sure why I wouldn't share my birth defect with him, but it was probably along the lines of, "I might like him," and, "If he knew, he might only hang around with me for the gold and the money."

Ren didn't seem like the greedy type, but neither had my 32nd captor. She just seemed like someone who enjoyed abusing toddlers, but she started going crazy after a bit, and she bought a new house, totally leaving me behind in the old one, and some crazy homeless people found me in there after that, bleeding and crying, and _they _must have seen the gold in my blood, because they bought a house with me, and then they started beating me, too, I guess for more money.

I liked knowing Ren was my friend because that was the type of person he was. I didn't want to have to doubt his loyalty. He was kind of like a pet, in a way, but _so _much better.

After my first week at Lokesh's I was hoping I would die. I decided to keep my cool, for my own sake, and not talk about it. He let us sleep in the middle of the day so he could torture us all night.

We slept for two hours. I know, because he still hadn't taken my sky blue watch.

I sat on my cage floor for a minute before Ren whispered, "Been quite a while since we've had a nice time to talk. Although, you have looked better," he looked concerned as he scanned my up and down.

He was talking about my black eye, my broken fingers, two of them, the two deep gashes in my cheeks that had finally stopped bleeding, and began to heal on their own, the long up barely a cut scrap running up my neck, the dark black and purple bruises on my upper chest and along my collar bone, my cut and bloody still left arm, which Ren didn't get to see while we were in our cages, so that could bleed gold all it wanted to, my bruised and beaten right arm, and my legs were the worst, because they were the easiest things for Lokesh to reach. They had extremely deep gashes, oozing gold whenever they could, and it would just shoot out, like a fountain or something, so I kept those tucked behind me. He also wrung my right ankle, and it was more than certain broken, and I officially couldn't walk anymore.

I was probably going to bleed out here, anyway. I couldn't heal in front of Ren. He has no choice but to heal in front of me.

_I wonder if he thinks I only like him for his special abilities. _I thought to myself.

My train of thought was broken by Ren. He took my bruised hand, kissed my two broken fingers lightly and whispered, "This is all my fault. I am _so _sorry."

I couldn't have Ren thinking this was his fault. Lokesh wanted to hurt him with me, yes, but he also wanted my blood. When he would torture me alone for an hour every other day, he would bottle my blood as it oozed off me, shaking the bottle every twenty minutes or so, so it wouldn't harden.

"Ren, it's not your fault, really," I smiled at him, and he just shook his head and began to weep.

"Ren, _please _stop crying," I never tried to be gentle with someone else's feelings before, so I tried begging.

When Ren kept on crying, I went back to my regular way I kept myself safe. I got mad and started being rude to him.

I wrenched my hand away and whispered harshly, "If you're so hung up on this being your fault, then let it be your fault! But not matter what, if we ever get out of here," I looked sternly at him, and he looked up and met my glare, "don't try to persuade me not to talk to you, or to get away from you, because you're a bad person, or you're, 'worried about my safety,' because I won't go. Why? You're the only friend I have. And I won't give you up so easily."

I waited for his response. He'd stopped crying somewhere through it, and now he had a cunning grin on his face. He whispered, "So I'm a friend now, huh? How _much _of a friend?"

I scoffed at him and turned away. "In your dreams!"

We laughed for a little while, then Ren whispered goodnight to me, and that he'd see me in his dreams.

I wasn't tired, thanks to the nap we took, so I relaxed while I heard Ren breathing, too tired to prop myself up and look at him.

About half an hour later I heard lots of screaming and yelling from different places through the building. I was scared, so I pretended to be asleep. Just in case people wanted to kill the witness, I decided not to be a witness.

There was shuffling around the room, so I stayed quiet and relaxed. If I tensed up, they would know I was awake.

I heard a cage door open. As far as I could tell, Ren and I were the only two people here. _Was someone rescuing Ren? Would he really leave without me? _

I heard a thump, and a crash, and I relaxed harder and thought of the one thing that kept me from screaming out. _Those could be worse guys, trying to re-kidnap me. Ren could be keeping quiet. If I scream out, they could kill him. _

I heard the sound of shaking fabric, and I heard Ren plead, "Kishan, I need you! Please! She's over there, please, Kishan!"

"We need to get you out of here, Ren. She isn't important right now," I heard another male voice sigh, and it sounded a lot like Ren. _Did he have split personality disorder?_

"_Kishan,_" he pleaded again, and I heard more ruffling fabric.

"No, Ren! Get up. We're going now."

I heard a thud, and Ren whispered harshly, "I'm not leaving without her!"

"_Ren_!"

"No, Kishan! I won't go! She means something to me! Also, I'm her only friend."

"How do you know?" Kishan whispered harshly.

"_Because_," Ren whispered harshly still, "she told me so earlier! I will _not leave her_!" Ren finished with a snarl.

"_Fine_!" Kishan finally gave in, but he was obviously angry, "but I wonder what Kelsey will say when she comes to!"

_He knows Kelsey, too? I think she'll be a little disappointed about what happened to Ren, _I thought.

My cage door squeaked as it came open.

"Can you walk?" came an upset whisper.

"Can you fly?" I asked sarcastically.

Kishan grumbled something about injured women and Ren being a fake hero, when I whispered sternly, "Ren is _not _fake! He's no hero, either, but he is _not fake!_"

I opened my eyes and sat up slightly, and found myself looking into golden eyes.

The golden eyes reminded me of my blood issue, and I whispered quickly, "Just hang on one second, I think I can walk."

I reached over to my bloody leg, and started rubbing my blood around. My cuts and even bruises instantly healed, and I whispered, "Other than my twisted ankle, I'm fine."

The golden eyed man reached his hands in the cage, and scooped me up tenderly. "I'm quite anxious to see what you look like. I want to know why Ren likes you so much."

He pulled me out of the cage slowly, trying not to jar my injured ankle, and he walked me over to Ren. "This her?"

"Was there anyone else?" Ren asked, and he smiled at me, then looked me up and down again. "Your leg is healed. Already."

"Yeah, I came from a long family line of fast healers," I lied. "I can manage walking on my own."

"But your ankle," Ren protested.

"I'll be fine. I overheard your argument, so I'm going to guess you guys know each other. He'll take care of you." I moved my good leg off of his arm, and placed it on the floor.

He lowered me, and I stood gingerly.

Ren glared at the man and whispered, "You need care. I'll watch over you as we walk back."

The golden eyed man protested, "No! You're both injured! I need to watch Kelsey,"

"Wait, she's here?" I interrupted.

"You know her?" the golden eyed man asked.

"Only her name. Ren asked me to remember it for him four days ago. Ren, do you remember that?"

"I remember talking to you. Not her." Ren asked, confused.

"Okay," I whispered, worried about Kelsey. "Let's just get out of here."

Suddenly, four men and a stretcher burst into the room, and they picked up and placed Ren onto it.

He struggled, but they begged him to stay.

The golden eyed man got frustrated, and he stalked off to Ren, whispered something I could catch, and punched him in the face, knocking him out on the stretcher.

I gasped. My worry turned to anger and I limped up to the golden eyed man and punched him in the jaw.

My hand burned like crazy, but I felt satisfied as the golden eyed man fell to the floor with a sickening thump.

The men and the stretcher marched out of the room.

As the golden eyed man stood up, obviously angry, he stalked toward me with his fists clenched, when a girl on the floor, about my age, groaned and stood up shakily. "Ren?"

The golden eyed man lowered his gaze to the floor and whispered, "That's Kelsey."

The girl, Kelsey, stood up, and looked around, confused. "Kishan, where's Ren?"

The golden eyed man said, "He just left on the stretcher. If you leave now you might catch him.

Kelsey ran out of the room immediately.

"Okay…" I said.

"She's stressed. Let's go." Kishan sighed.

I limped out of the room, ahead of Kishan. I was still mad at him for punching Ren.

When I finally found my way out of the building, most of the people had fled.

I was limping pathetically through the woods, following a lantern's light, when Kishan caught up to me and spun me around to look at him.

He looked exactly like Ren, only he didn't. His eyes were golden, and instead of a white shirt, his was black.

Ren wore white and blue. Kishan wore black on black. Neither of them had shoes. Looking at Kishan's face, I saw a younger Ren.

I stood my ground, though, as I stared into Kishan's golden eyes. They were his defining features.

I stared Kishan down, then he smiled sweetly and moved in closer and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I turned my head and backed away, turning away from him.

"What did I do to upset you?" he asked.

"What did you tell Ren?" I changed the subject.

"I'll answer you if you answer me." He stated. "Final offer."

"You didn't have to hit him like that," I said quickly. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him I'd look out for you, and that I was sorry I had to do what I did. I don't like hurting Ren. But I do like to yell at him."

He turned me around and smiled playfully at me.

I wrenched myself away again, and I snarled at him. "Touch me again. See what happens."

"Alright," Kishan stepped forward swiftly, and grabbed me in a close, forceful embrace.

I tried to push him off me, but as I struggled, he only held on tighter.

He clicked his tongue a couple of times, watching me struggle, which only made me struggle against him harder.

All of my struggling was really upsetting my bruised arm, and it made my blood arm bleed more, so it was basically pointless. But, on the other hand, it helped me get my anger out.

"Really, why fight me?" he asked cunningly.

I growled at him. "I'm still mad at you, doofus!"

"Maybe this will help."

Swiftly, he dipped me, picked me back up against his chest, and kissed me.

The kiss was warm, tender, sweet and simple, and only lasted a couple seconds. Around seven, maybe eight.

We broke apart, and he loosened his grip on my waist, and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

I pretended to ponder my thoughts, then looked back at him and said, "Nope, still angry."

I violently shoved him off, and he stumped back, and I limped back off through the woods alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, well I'm about to watch The Legend of Korra! Can't wait! Bye!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys! Sorry, but my computer has been acting wonky for days, so I'm sorry about this. I _really _need to apologize most to all of my MoA fans, so sorry about that to any of you guys who also read this! I'll apologize publicly on my next chapter I upload. SORRY TO EVERYONE!**

**Enjoy this chapter, guys!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

A Passion for Action

As I limped through the woods, I felt Kishan's presence behind me, but from a distance, as if not to disturb me. _Huh, what a gentleman._ I thought sarcastically.

Suddenly, a group of heavily tattooed people, three men and one woman, burst out of the forest.

My instinct was to turn and run. They looked like the man who'd helped Lokesh torture me and Ren back in his whack torture house. I'd bet they'd come to bring us back.

But, two of them were supporting the stretcher, while the the woman was trying to persuade me to get on the stretcher.

I could tell by her movements, but also by some of her words.

The part that scared me was that she was talking in a different language.

It was probably just context from her gestures. She kept gesturing at my twisted ankle, which must have swollen for anyone to notice, and then back at the stretcher.

She also kept putting her hands together in front of her chest, like she was pleading, or praying.

I was seriously tired of walking, and I didn't think that would be able to walk to the stretcher without my ankle bursting like a water balloon.

I decided to be a little dramatic, and see if the man who was also trying to persuade me would come pick me up and carry me to the stretcher.

I nodded, and plastered a pained expression on my face, then I took a step with my bad ankle so I could fall believably, and I held my ankle, looking down with my eyes shut tight.

I heard some shuffling from in front of me, and I thought my plan had worked, when I heard Kishan say behind me, "_Maiṁ usē lē jā sakatē__haiṁ_."

My plan shattered with a huge crack, and I realized Kishan was probably going to try to carry me.

I looked up over my shoulder at Kishan. "_Nahīṁ, vāstava mēṁ, yaha ṭhīka hai. Vē mujhē sṭrēcara para lē jā sakatē haiṁ_. If you touch me I'll scream. They'll think you're hurting me."

"Don't be naive," Kishan said hoarsely. "I'm not in the mood for you right now."

"Fine, I'll be quiet, but not because you asked me too, but because I'm tired from yelling at you all day." I replied stubbornly.

He lifted me up, holding me in his arms, with one arm under my knees, and the other arm supporting my back.

"And I'll try not to drop you, although my arms are tired from the stress of you yelling at me," he winked, and I realized what I was up against. Two cunning men with an knack for action and passion, all rolled up in one.

_I seriously hope Kelsey isn't mad at me for this_.

"Wait," Kishan stopped mid stride. "What?" I asked, annoyed.

"Did you just speak, _Hindi_? I thought you were American," Kishan asked, shocked.

"I didn't speak Hindi, and I am American. What were you hearing?"

"I just realized that when I said, 'I can take you,' you responded in Hindi, so the people would understand, then switched to English to tell me your crazy plan."

"I never talked in Hindi!" I said, frustrated. "I don't even _know _Hindi!"

"Doesn't seem like it to me," Kishan scoffed.

"Just drop it, okay? We can pick it back up later, _after _I'm over you hurting my friend."

"And when will that be?" Kishan asked, continuing to walk again.

"I'm not sure. I'm _very _good at holding grudges," I whispered and smiled, while Kishan sighed.

_Yup, _I thought was we walked. _I really am in danger here. And so is Kelsey._

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, the world of romance is bitter-sweet, isn't it? :). Well, review! I hope you all enjoyed this! My next chapter is so long it's killing me to finish it, with all th other junk I have to do. <strong>

**This little translation is for you guys. _Maiṁ usē lē jā sakatē__haiṁ_: I can take her**

**_Nahīṁ, vāstava mēṁ, yaha ṭhīka hai. Vē mujhē sṭrēcara para lē jā sakatē haiṁ: _No, that's okay. The nice people can take me on the stretcher. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kelsey, or Angry Chick?

Kishan carried me, listening to the directions of the tattooed group, to a tent in a dirt clearing, where the girl from before, Kelsey, and a man with white hair sat, shuffling through a back pack.

Kelsey looked up at Kishan, then she looked at me, and I looked away immediately, trying to look hurt.

Kishan whispered down to me, "What are you doing?"

"Don't know, not sure, so don't ask." I acted like he had just asked me if I'd be alright, so I nodded meekly.

I was brought into a tent, and I saw set on a stretcher next to Ren. Kishan placed me on the small, dirty green stretcher, and I looked over at Ren.

A heavily tattooed woman walked over to me and asked, "_Tuma kara rahē haiṁ ṭhīka hai_?"

I replied, "_Hām̐ , maiṁ ṭhīka hūm̐_."

She nodded, and pointed to Ren. "_Āpakē dōsta kā kyā_?"

"_Maiṁ usakī dēkhabhāla kara sakatē haiṁ, lēkina tuma saba kucha āpa aura āpakē lōga kiyā hai kē li'ē bahuta bahuta dhan'yavāda_." I smiled at her.

She smiled back, bowed, and backed out of the tent.

Ren sighed and whispered, "Hi."

"Oh, thank goodness, Ren! I thought you'd be out for days! Oh, your nose!" I said, concerned.

I tried to move over to help him, but my ankle just would let me.

"You're acting strangely all of a sudden. Something wrong?" he asked.

"I thought I'd try something new. I guess I'm not too good at it, huh?" I asked, and we laughed.

I decided he needed to meet my gift. I needed to heal his nose.

"Ren," I whispered.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Close your eyes. The tattooed lady left me some ointment that helps heal broken bones. You should be healed really soon. Like, half an hour max soon." I said.

"Alright," he whispered.

He closed his eyes as I looked around for some blood.

I'd healed my leg, so that was a no-go, but my arm was still bad.

I scraped some blood off of my arm; gold included, and started rubbing it in small circled on his nose.

"You have to keep your eyes closed, no matter how much it hurts, okay?" I whispered tenderly as I kept rubbing in small circles.

He nodded, and I almost rubbed my blood in his eye.

I decided to start healing his black eyes, and I slowly worked on those for a while.

I gradually began to heal all of his wounds and bruises. After about half an hour, he was completely healed, except for his fingers, which had already started healing on their own.

"How's your nose?" I asked.

"It's a miracle!" he opened his eyes and sat up dramatically. "I can smell again!"

We started laughing, then Ren whispered, "Thank you. For everything."

"Okay, I will say your welcome, but only if you close your eyes and lay back down on the stretcher for a full minute, okay? I'll be counting!" I said sternly, as he laughed and followed my directions.

I started counting out loud, and Ren just sighed.

As I counted I rubbed my blood on my arms, and they healed. I rubbed for a while, then I thought of a nice thing I could do for Ren.

I let some liquid gold bleed onto the stretcher, and then I immediately started molding it into a special shape as it hardened.

Satisfied with my craftsmanship, and my body healed once again, I poked Ren in the arm, and hid my creation behind my back.

He opened his eyes and looked over at me. "Yes?"

"This is for you," I handed him the chunk of gold that I had skillfully molded into a small diamond shape.

"It's beautiful. Where did you find it?" he turned it in his hands and asked, "Is this real gold?"

I decided to tell him the truth. "Yes."

He admired it, then Kishan came in and said, "Kelsey and Mr. Kadam have set up a feast. Are you ready?"

"Yes, we both are," Ren glared at him as he slipped the golden jewel into my hands again and whispered, "Hold it for me for a second."

Kishan looked puzzled, but I waved it away as Ren took my empty hand and lead me past Kishan, out into the tent.

As soon as Kelsey saw my hand in his, her face turned red, and, did her hand turn red, too? _That can't be good, _I thought, alarmed.

Ren sat next to a white haired man, who seemed to be old enough to be their dad, but he had a kind smile and some laugh lines, and he ushered me to sit next to him.

Ren introduced me to a couple people. "This is Mr. Kadam. He's been watching over me and my brother since our parents' death. He's like a father to us. But, he does have a… daughter, but she's not here," He gestured to the white haired man, and I smiled. Ren continued, "And I assume you've met Kishan, my younger brother, by a year." Ren smiled at Kishan as he walked angrily over and sat next to Kelsey, and he started talking to her and answering questions.

Kelsey looked over to me, and gave me the stink eye, and it was probably something Kishan said about me and Ren, so I decided to make her feel worse, just because I was weird like that and I smiled sweetly and placed my hand on Ren's arm.

I shook Mr. Kadam's hand and he formally introduced himself. "Hello! Yes, I am Mr. Kadam, but Ren here forgot to mention your name. What would that be, Miss?"

I wasn't sure I was ready to reveal my identity, so I simply said, "You can call me whatever you want."

"Don't you have a name?" Mr. Kadam asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, but I barely know you guys, and little miss person over there doesn't seem all too happy about me, so I don't want her knowing my name." I lied.

"I see," Mr. Kadam looked over his shoulder at Kelsey, who looked over and him and they exchanged looks. "Well, I'm happy to see you have at least _one _person who you can trust. Does, Ren here happen to know your name?"

"Nope," I said with a smile. "Just because he's my first friend doesn't mean that I _have _to trust him right away with my identity."

Mr. Kadam seemed smart to me, so I was pretty sure he would be able to find out all kinds of information on me, just by knowing my first name!

Kelsey looked back over her shoulder at us, and I started talking with Mr. Kadam and Ren.

We talked about lots of subjects, including math and sports, but I seemed to be the only one who knew about sports like football or soccer.

When I first brought them up, and told them more about how soccer was played with your feet, Mr. Kadam asked, "Well, what's the difference between the two?"

I started explaining how I thought that football was improperly named, when I was interrupted by another tattooed man, and was he carrying his _hair_? What was up with him?

He came over to Ren and bowed a deep bow. He held out his hair and began talking to Ren. "_Namaskāra. Maiṁ kyā maiṁ āpa kē li'ē kiyā thā kē li'ē māphī cāhatā hūm," _that was when I realized this was the man that had twisted my arm and dragged me and Ren to our torture sessions with Lokesh. My jaw automatically tightened, and I placed my hand back on Ren's arm, to warn him.

He placed his other hand on my hand and squeezed slightly, telling me he knew who he was, and that he wasn't affraied, and he smiled and continued to listen. Unfortunately for this man, I wasn't very forgiving, but I let him continue._ "Namaskāra. Maiṁ kyā maiṁ āpa kē li'ē kiyā thā kē li'ē māphī cāhatā hūm̐ . Maiṁ cāhatā hūm̐ vahām̐ vaisē bhī mērē li'ē vāstava mēṁ vyakta karanē kē li'ē kaisē maiṁ tuma aura tumhārī mām̐ aura pitā aura bhā'ī mujhē aura mērē janajāti kē li'ē kyā kiyā hai kē li'ē ābhārī hūm̐ . Tuma dēkhō, vaha mērī patnī para kabjā kara liyā thā aura mērē baccōṁ kō māra ḍālā... Maiṁ tō basa... Kō'ī cārā nahīṁ thā. Maiṁ māphī cāhatā hūm̐ , kr̥payā, āpa apanē dila mēṁ vaisē bhī pā sakatē haiṁ mujhē māpha kara dō?_"

I looked away from the man in a huff, and I heard Mr. Kadam begin to tell Kelsey what the man was saying.

_How did she not know? He was speaking English. Maybe she _doesn't _speak English! _I thought.

Ren nodded, then the man said, "_Yahām̐, mērē du: Kha aura kr̥tajñatā kā ēka saṅkēta kē rūpa mēṁ mērē bāla rakhanā_," and he held out his hair to Ren.

Ren nodded and said, "_Śukriyā, maiṁ apanē bālōṁ kō aura māphī svīkāra karatē haiṁ_," And took his hair gracefully.

When the tattooed man walked away, to the other side of the rug, covered in various "But, I already know what he said. He said, 'Hello. I am so sorry for what I did to you. I wish there was anyway for me to express truly how grateful I am for what you and your mother and father and brother have done for me and my tribe. You see, he had captured my wife and killed my children...I just...had no choice. I'm sorry, please, can you find anyway in your heart to forgive me?'"

Ren nodded. The man walked off, being hugged by his fellow tribe members.

I looked around, and noticed everyone in this tribe was _covered _in piercings and tattoos! It was scary, actually, but kind of cool!

"Who are these guys?" I whispered to Ren. "And why did you take his _hair_?"

"Because," Ren whispered back, "It is traditional then to receive forgiveness, you had to give a sacrifice in this culture."

"And what is this culture, might I ask?"

"The Baiga. According to Kadam, they found that out before they came here," Ren leaned in and pressed his lips against my ear. "Act like I just said something funny, and laugh, then, when I kiss your hair, act all shy. Can you do that?"

I laughed as Ren pulled his head away. "Sorry, I didn't get it, but I thanks for explaining it to me, I get it now! Really funny!"

He nodded at me and smiled. He bent over and kissed my hair, and I looked down and blushed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kelsey's face flash red with hatred.

"Ren, I…" I whispered, and he pulled his head away and looked at me.

I bent my neck and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and he pulled his head back slightly, and whispered against my lips, keeping his eyes closed, "What are you doing?"

"Acting," I whispered back. "I know that you were creeped out by that girl staring at you, so I think she'll get the picture and move on."

Ren smelled like Sandal wood and fresh water.

We broke apart, and I smiled nervously at him, and looked down at the ground and started twirling my thumbs around each other.

Kelsey stood up, and stalked off. Before she left, I noticed angry tears streaking down her face.

When she had vanished into the trees, Kishan stood up and walked after her.

* * *

><p>The feast went by smoothly, and Kelsey and Kishan did return through half of it. We left with a whole bunch of "thank you"s and bowing. We walked to a Jeep at the edge of dirt road, and I sat in back seat next to Kishan while Kelsey at in front with Mr. Kadam, and Ren sat in the truck part at the back.<p>

"Do you think it's safe for him to be back there without a seatbelt?" I asked as Mr. Kadam started the engine and the car leaped.

Kishan didn't reply.

"Well then," I said dramatically, and Kelsey snorted.

"Excuse me?" I asked, suddenly very angry.

"What? I didn't say anything," she didn't look back at me, though.

I was ready to fight with her, but I decided not to, _right then_. I would get her back for this later.

The car ride home took an hour, and I was full of insults and things to throw at Kelsey when the time came. But, the time hadn't come yet. I was too tired today. I'd hurt her tomorrow. Well, I'd hurt her worse, I guess.

Sorry, but _nobody _makes fun of me and gets away with it unscathed!

* * *

><p>We walked into a huge house with an awesome kitchen and a dining table and a second floor. There were doors on that floor, and I realized they were probably bedrooms.<p>

To confirm my suspicions, Kelsey ran past us, up the stairs, and into one of the rooms. Kishan ran after her, neither of them even looking at me.

Okay, so I'd get her back tomorrow. No big deal.

I turned around and marveled at Mr. Kadam. "How, this is a really nice place! Where do I sleep?"

"Well," Mr. Kadam started, "You _were _going to sleep with Ms. Kelsey when I first saw you, but now I'm not so sure."

"I can just sleep on the couch or something, no big deal," I said, and I walked past the dining room and into the coolest movie room I'd ever seen.

"Or," I turned around, smiling, "I could crash here tonight."

"She'll sleep with me," Ren whispered, and walked over to me and put his hand on my back.

"Aw! Fine," I pouted as I walked with him, talking about nothing in particular.

He led me up the stairs and down the hall, into the farthest door.

He opened it and let me in. I stepped in, but I kept my guard up, just in case.

The room was dark, but I could see pretty well as I walked in and sat on the end of his bed.

"It seems you can see," he said, and he walked in, closing the door behind me.

I suddenly got very scared. "Open the door, or I swear, I'll start screaming."

"Relax, I won't hurt you, I swear. I won't do anything," he says, and he walked toward another door on the side of the room, next to another door.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"Bathroom. I'll be in there tonight. I don't want to scare you, just, please, goodnight," he whispered, and slipped into the bathroom.

"Okay," I said, and I let him close the door behind him.

My body started to ache, from what felt like tiredness, so I lied on the bed, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, there is seriously something wrong with this computer! IT WON'T LET ME WRITE UP THERE! It's probably because I'm such a MURDERER! T-T!<strong>

**I killed two of my stories, so...**

**ANYWAY, I've fullied my goal by editing two chapters by the end of this week, so yay for that!**

**Oh, and this is a really a good chapter for me, because it leads to the all wanted, GIRL FIGHT! **

**Okay, so I had a pretty good day, except for the fact that I KILLED TWO OF MY STORIES! Okay, well, I hope you enjoyed this! REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Not All That Normal

I woke up early that morning. I had slept on at foot of his bed, and I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

I was still fully dressed, and my hair remained the same.

I sighed in relief and I got up and stretched.

"Ren?" I whisper called.

No answer.

I walked over and knocked on the bathroom door.

There was a low rumble from inside.

"Okay, occupied, sorry," I held my hands up in surrender. Then I remembered he couldn't see them, so I shoved my hands in my pockets and I took a leisurely stroll around the first floor of the house, poking my head into open doorways.

I nearly ran into Mr. Kadam.

"Oh, hey, sorry, Mr. Kadam," I said quickly.

"Oh, not a problem, Miss," he replied curtly, and I couldn't help but smile.

"So…" I looked around and balanced on the heels of my feet. "Are we the only ones up?"

"It seems that way," Mr. Kadam looked around as well.

We were silent for a minute. It didn't feel like an awkward silence, until I realized Mr. Kadam was studying my face.

I raised a fist to my mouth and cleared my throat.

"Hm?" he said, as if I had just woken him from his sleep.

"Well," he said, "you might want a tour around the grounds?"

"Sure, I guess it's good to know where I am, seeing I'm in a house full of strangers and guys who won't let girls sleep on their couches." I grumbled.

"I see," Mr. Kadam replied with a questioning tone.

I waved the question away.

As we headed toward the stairs, he called back to me, "I assume you've already given yourself a tour of the upper floor?"

"Yes sir," I said, which even surprised me with my civilized words.

He chuckled. "I see."

He finished the tour with the movie room and the monster sized pool in the backyard.

"You don't know how badly I just want to jump in here!" I said to Mr. Kadam.

"You and me both," a deep voice said, and I froze.

_Not Ren, means…_

"Hi, Kishan," I sighed.

"Hello again," Kishan stepped up next to me and whispered, "Do you know why Kelsey is so mad?"

I moved away from him. "I don't really care enough to find out," and I turned and stalked off.

I opened the doors to the inside of the house, and I saw Ren and Kelsey sitting on the couch.

I ducked behind the door and watched as Kelsey started talking to him.

"Come on, Ren, don't you remember finding the Golden Fruit in Kishkindha? Don't you remember that night in the hotel room before that? Ren…" Kelsey pleaded.

_Night in the hotel room? _I thought.

I re-opened the door and slammed it shut behind me.

I walked in leisurely, and Kelsey's expression immediately turned sour. "Oh, _you're _here."

"I am. I was awake first, however, so…" I smiled at her.

"Ren, would you go upstairs, please? I'd finally like to talk to your friend over there," Kelsey turned on him.

"Okay…" Ren said cautiously, and he stood up and walked up stairs into his room and closed his door.

Kelsey immediately stood up and came really close to me.

"Now you listen to me, stowaway," she growled, and I was slightly shocked by her choice of words, "I don't care who you think you are to him, but you are absolutely _nothing_!"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"He's _my _boyfriend," she snarled, and she turned and started to walk away.

I wasn't going to let her get away with any comments like that.

"But he doesn't even remember your _name_!" I shouted after her.

"Shut up!" she shouted, and whirled back around.

The next moment seemed to happen in a very strange way. Her hand rose at what felt like lightning speed, but the next part seemed to happen in slow motion.

Her palm collided with my cheek with suck force it shoved my head to the side.

Time went back to normal, and the burning sensation in my cheek and the smug look on Kelsey's face made me realize that my cheek was bright red.

"Oh no," I said.

I ran up and tackled her, forcing her to the ground.

I punched her in the gut and I heard her wheeze.

I pinned her legs down with my legs, and I pinned her shoulders down with my left forearm.

"You don't _slap _me and get away with it!" I snarled, and I punched her in the jaw, forcing her head sideways.

She screamed out in frustration, and I pulled my plastic knife out of my shoe.

She shrieked, and she wrapped her hand around my elbow.

An extremely hot, white, searing pain shot through my arm, and my whole body, and I screamed out and fell off her.

It felt as if my whole body was burning, and melting apart.

I slipped in and out of consciousness, and I heard a door slam, a loud shout of, "Kelsey, what did you do?" Soon, all I saw was darkness, and my hearing faded.

I woke up on Ren's bed, and I saw a couple blurred figures standing over me.

"She's awake," I heard, but I the voice was blended and massed, and I couldn't understand whose it was. It could have been male or female, but most likely male.

The world faded to black once more.

"Or, maybe not," I heard that voice say before my hearing faded.

I woke up, and I felt warm all over me. I felt like I was being burned by Kelsey again, and I tried to scream.

But, my tongue felt heavy and fuzzy, so all I could do was swallow.

I opened my eyes, and I saw golden bronze biceps, and a black shirt.

I was able to muster, "Quick, knock me out now so I don't have to endure _this _part of the nightmare."

He laughed slightly. "What makes this a nightmare?"

I decided to change the subject. "Where's Ren?"

"He just left to get something for all of us to eat. He doesn't know what you like, so he's making peanut butter for everyone." Kishan said.

"Hurry, knock me out. I hate peanut butter!"

Kishan laughed again. "You seem pretty tired to me. Just, fall asleep."

My eyes got heavy, and I drifted off in his arms.

My lucid dream was quiet pleasant.

Kelsey was there, and basically, all she did was cry. Cry, cry, cry.

I got mad at her again. "How did you do it?" I shouted at her.

"I…I don't know!" she cried.

"Well, maybe you should know how it feels," I snarled, and I surrounded in her fire.

But, I wasn't mean enough to actually burn her, like she did.

"It's so…hot…" she gasped.

"Yeah, it is. Your touch was worse," I growled.

She gasped, took a huge breath, and she fell to the ground.

I put out the fire that she was about to fall into, and I just watched her deep and even breathing as she just…laid there.

I ended that dream and played around with other versions of reality until I heard Ren's voice echo throughout my dream. "How is she?"

And then Kishan, "Sleeping."

"You mean unconscious?" Ren's voice.

"No, sleeping. She woke up, talked for a bit, she looked tired. She fell asleep. Nothing else." Kishan finished.

I opened my eyes and whispered, "It's true, that's what happened."

Ren jumped.

Kishan and I laughed. I sat up, and Ren whispered, "Don't _do _that!"

I yawned. "So, what are you guys up to today?"

"Sorry, I ate your sandwich…" Ren whispered. "It's just…I was hungry, and you hadn't eaten yours, and it was just sitting there. Sorry."

"It's fine. I probably wouldn't have eaten it anyway. I'm not hungry," I lied.

Kishan looked at me, but I ignored him. Ren smiled. "Okay."

I got up and started walking toward the door. Ren stood up and tried to follow me, but something stopped him.

"Just let her be," Kishan whispered, and Ren sighed.

I spent my night sleeping on their couch. My lucid dream was simple enough. The first couple hours was Kelsey begging me for my forgiveness, and the next couple hours was me hanging out with Ren, and my last part was just me, sitting alone on my thinking log in the peaceful forest, thinking.

Then, Kishan showed up and kept me company.

I woke up the next morning and stretched and yawned. I scratched my head and walked into the kitchen.

Mr. Kadam was cooking breakfast, and I marveled at the huge tower of pancakes on a clean plate.

"Dang, Mr. Kadam! I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw this! I haven't eaten in a couple days…" I said.

"Really?" he asked, adding three more pancakes to the stack.

"Yeah, the last time I ate was before I was captured by Lokesh," I replied calmly, too focused on the pancakes to care. "So, when do we eat?"

"Ms. Kelsey has specifically requested not to eat with us today. I was wondering, maybe you would like to come with me to the market at around eleven?" He started carrying the plate out to the table.

"Yeah, sure. But, don't worry, I don't need money," I said, following him to the table and sitting down.

The doors upstairs opened, and Ren and Kishan ran down the steps so fast it sounded like thunder, pushing each other all the way down.

Surprisingly, Kishan got there first and sat next to me, and Ren growled at him and sat across from me.

Kishan just gave him a look.

I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Mr. Kadam sat down and Kishan, Ren and I went for the stack of pancakes so fast I could barely tell how many pancakes I grabbed.

I had a small stack of five, and I covered them in syrup and dug in.

I ended up eating ten pancakes total, while Kishan and Ren both ate eighteen.

There was one left, and the boys and I had a stare-down for it.

"Alright, I'm out," I said, and leaned back in my chair. "It's in your hands now."

Ren ended up getting it, and we just talked for a while and laughed about random things.

So, Mr. Kadam brought up the market again. "So, I'm heading to the market today at around eleven. Does anyone want to go with me?"

_Nice choice, Mr. Kadam, _I thought. _Don't tell them I'm going. Like they'll care. _

"I'll go," Kishan said, and then rubbed his leg against mine.

I moved my leg away and acted as if nothing had happened.

"I'd rather stay, anyway," Ren said. "To keep the girls in line."

I gave him a stone cold stare, and he blinked in astonishment. "Believe me, I don't need to be kept in line," I stood up, and brought my plate and fork into the kitchen.

I didn't realize Kishan was behind me until he reached around me and grabbed the sponge from in my hand.

"Oh no," I said, and I tightened my grip.

He laughed. "Come on, I just want a turn!"

"I don't think so!" I pulled my hand away from him, and he laughed as he chased me around the small kitchen space.

He cornered me between the end of the counter and the wall. My hands were covered in soap, and so were his.

I placed one of my hands on the counter, and he stepped very close to me and placed his hand on top of mine.

"Ready to give up that sponge now?" Kishan's breath was warm against my ear. I felt chills go down my spine, but I stayed calm and toughened up.

I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I let it out and said, "Here." I picked up his hand and I placed the sponge in it.

I felt warmth leave my thigh as he backed away, and I quickly realized he'd had his other hand there.

He must have realized it too, because he looked at his now empty hand, and he said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

I cut him off by rushing up to him and giving him a hug. "I think we can forget about this," I whispered. "And we could be friends. Really good friends. I want us to be friends. Just…" I was cut off by Kishan.

He kissed me. I stayed stone still.

He backed away and he whispered, "If we're not going to remember this, why can you just let me know if you-"

I gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "Wash you're dish, Kishan," I turned and left the kitchen, smiling the whole way outside, and I jumped in the pool.

* * *

><p>Going with Mr. Kadam at the market was fun. He taught me about a whole lot of different Indian fruits and dishes to make with them.<p>

I looked up around, and I saw a jewelry stand. I saw a young man, maybe twenty-two at the latest, with a flat visor hair style all around his head, made up of curly hair.

He nodded at the man and turned to leave. I felt like I knew that person, but there was no possible way. Then, I drew my ponytail over my shoulder and stroked my hair.

I must know him.

We have the same hair.

* * *

><p>As we drove back to the house, my encounter with jewelry clerk replayed inside my mind.<p>

I walked up to him, and I as I browsed through his jewelry items, I asked, "So, who was that young man who just left?"

"Are you buying anything?" he asked gruffly.

"I can buy your store out," I whispered. "Who was that man?"

"The only thing he gave me was his money. I never asked him any questions," the said hoarsely, and he coughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Stop playing with me, Jack, just tell me who he was!"

I didn't know why I called him Jack; I just decided that was a thing to say. Like Kelsey, calling me stowaway.

I gritted my teeth and continued with the memory.

"I only know what he looks like!" he whispered quickly.

I slammed my hand on the table and he jumped. "I'll buy something, just don't expect it to be worth my time."

He nodded.

I was twirling my new bracelet around my wrist when Kishan tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked up at him.

"I like that. The gold beads really complement your skin tone. Hold it up to your face," he whispered.

Instead, I put the matching necklace on.

"Oh," he whispered.

I laughed slightly.

"Well, like I was going to say was, the gold and the dark brown string really complement your skin and the silver in your eyes. I've never seen eyes like yours. Silver with green flecks. Amazing," he marveled, staring into my eyes.

I stared at him as he stared at me.

I coughed, and he looked away.

"When I was younger, my eyes used to change colors. When I turned fourteen, they stayed at this solid green color. Then, after I was in Lokesh's prison, the green shrunk, and silver took its place," I told him, and I looked away from him completely.

"I see. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Lokesh, I mean," he whispered.

"I'm used to it," I said, and right before he could ask what I meant, Mr. Kadam called, "We're here."

I went inside and I walked up the stairs. I didn't know how silent I had been until I heard Kelsey from the stairs. "I don't care what she's like! She doesn't love you! She doesn't even like you!"

I ran up quietly, skipping steps, until I pressed my ear against her door.

"How do you know? You two don't seem so 'buddy-buddy' that you would share secrets!" Ren replied in exasperation.

"I can just tell, Ren, because if she really loved you, she wouldn't have just left you!" Kelsey said in a soothing tone. "I'm sorry."

I heard shuffling, and then I heard Ren shout, "Get off of me!"

"Why do you think could even trust her anyway? She's normal! More normal than me!" Kelsey shouted

I got so mad, I punched the door open and stalked in.

"I'm normal?" I shouted, and Kelsey jumped.

Ren set his jaw and looked away from both of us.

"I think you are," Kelsey said sternly, and crossed her arms.

I couldn't even say anything. I bent down and took the knife from my shoe. I walked straight up to Kelsey and put my arm right in front of her face.

I brought up my knife and sliced through my arm quickly and backed away as she shrieked.

I knelt down again and let my blood drip on the floor.

"What's this supposed to prove?" Kelsey shrieked in exasperation, but Ren walked over to me and knelt down next to me.

Kelsey's eyes widened and Ren smiled as the gold started to show and puddle on the floor.

"What the-" Kelsey started, but I rubbed my blood over my cut and it healed instantly.

I scooped up the puddle of gold and my blood ran through my fingers.

"The diamond," Ren whispered in aw, and I nodded.

The gold felt like soft clay, and an idea popped into my head. I molded the gold until my fingers were sore, but all the details were perfect. I shoved it in Ren's hand and I stood up.

He turned the tiger statuette over in his hands, and Kelsey looked at it as well.

"How did you…?" she asked, and looked up at me.

"I'm not all that normal," was all I said, and I turned and stormed out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>SECRETS REVEALED! <strong>

**Okay, so, I'm having trouble thinking of a name for this girl, and I want her to be named fast. So, seriously, and name ideas you guys can think of, tell me in a review, I guess!**

**THANKS FOR READING! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, so, this is...a...chapter...of a...story...**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

Tiger Mischief

I was in Mr. Kadam's study, on his computer, trying to locate exactly what part of India I was in. I finally figured it out, and I remembered reading some crazy headlines when I was twelve in some people's crazy houses.

"Boy leading riot against society."

"15-Year-Old Boy Vandalizing Neighborhood"

"Curly Haired Boy Now Public Menace Number Seven"

"Sudden Disappearance of Public Menace Number Seven"

I opened Google and I typed in, "Public Menace Number Seven 2004"

A whole bunch of web links popped up, like, "Top Ten Wanted of 2012," or "Menace Finder," and all those other weird things that people are freaking about these days.

I scroll down until I find it. "The Disappearance of Public Menace Number Seven" and the couple sentences had the year 2004 in them.

I clicked on the link and webpage loaded. I'd been thinking about this moment for quiet a while. I'd always had a suspicion that Number Seven was someone I knew, but I never saw a picture, and I didn't know for sure.

I read a little, then I scrolled down, and I saw it. A big picture of a boy with flat curly hair.

Hair like mine, only mine is usually tied back, and much longer.

I read the caption underneath: Brandon Towers

I opened a new window and I pulled up Google again. I copied his name into the search box and pressed search.

His current age showed up, which is twenty-three. _I knew it! He _is _three years older than me! _

I needed to know where he disappeared to, so I reopened the article I was reading.

"Brandon left America, and sightings from around the world say that he was seen all over, but the last sightings we have are when he first reached the border and crossed into India. People are thinking he may have died…"

I cut off the sentence and I went back to the old article.

It said nothing about his current where-abouts, nothing about who he was related to, nothing but his age and his past crimes.

I scrolled down a little more in frustration, and I found something that I didn't expect, which I also thought was kind of stupid and beginner criminals cheesy.

He used the same Real-Estate company.

I clicked on the link and as I waited for the website to load, I thought of all the ways I'd practiced hacking a website. The average Real-Estate websites only have about twelve to seventeen firewalls per page, so to get to the official launch of pages, and then hack those firewalls to get to the page I want…

I sighed as the friendly design of the webpage popped up. I had to get through 24-34 firewalls.

I opened my control panel and I started typing in there, and I started typing in codes in the search box and in the web address box until I found the firewall page. I typed a lot more, and I typed in the next code, when a window popped up, blinking on my bottom bar. I clicked it, and it popped up.

It was the command box to shut off all firewalls. All I needed was the administrator password.

I saw that the username square was already filled in with Mr. Kadam's computer name. I laughed. They were trying to hack me back.

I declined, and I kept breaking through their firewalls.

I made it to the main page, and I found the page with the logs of houses bought. I started hacking my way to the webpage.

It finally popped up, and I gave a sigh of relief.

I silently hoped that it was up until 2004, and I started looking for my brother's name in the name column.

It stopped at the year 2010, and I muttered a curse and left the page.

I hacked into the next page, and these records went back to 2008.

I calculated the age that you were allowed to buy a house in America, which was more than likely the same here anyway, but Brandon would have followed the American laws. Which, is eighteen, so I calculated which year that he would have bought his house.

In 2005, so I had to go back two webpages.

I went to the next to pages over, and started hacking.

By in the next hour, I had all of my brother's contact information, and had pin-pointed his exact location in India, which wasn't too far from the market closest to this mansion.

I started feeling extremely shaky, but I took it as a tired notion, and I started trying to walk out of the study and down the hall.

I ran into Kishan on my way up the stairs.

I was extremely shaky now, and he seemed to be, too.

"Are you as tired as I am?" I asked.

"You're shaking as well?" Kishan seemed extremely alarmed.

"Yeah…?" I replied quizzically.

"Ren! Ren! You down here!" Kishan hissed.

Ren came down, trembling as well.

"Okay, what's going on?" I asked. Three was too much to be a coincidence.

"How did you not notice! She's…she's…" Kishan growled at Ren hopelessly.

I couldn't hold in anymore.

"I'm sorry! I didn't notice anything! She said she'd been sprinkled, but she didn't notice any effects…"

I let out a hopeless cry of anger and discomfort, and I shrunk to my hands and knees on the steps.

"Now I know why her eyes are so big," Ren whispered, as Kishan ran to my side. In, a trembling way, that is.

He crouched down next to me and whispered, "Everything is going to be okay, just relax. At least we know we can trust you now," Kishan whispered.

"What's going on, Kishan?" I groaned. "Why does it hurt so much?"

"Just relax, and give in to the pain. You'll see in a second," Kishan coaxed.

I took a deep breath, shot Kishan a worried glance, and I gave in to the trembles.

I lurched forward, and I my hands and feet retract and extend slightly. I felt my spin slightly elongate, but nothing turn until the last bit.

My tail bone mutated and grew larger.

I shouted out in pain, but what came out wasn't a shout, but a roar.

A mighty, strong, wild cat roar.

Then I whimpered and looked down at my hands.

Or, paws.

I sat and I felt my tail swing too and fro gently.

My paws were a golden color, with a mix of red, and, of course, black tiger stripes.

_My secret, shown on the outside, the meaning unknown by anyone but me._ I thought sadly.

I looked around and saw Kishan. I recognized the black fur and I could barely make out the tiger stripes.

His golden eyes were a darker color than my fur, and were a little more orange.

I nuzzled him in the leg. _Can you see in color?_

He nodded.

I trotted up the steps toward Ren.

Ren had beautiful white fur that accented his blue eyes and black stripes like tar sitting on fresh, untainted snow, with two dark blue orbs sitting in the snow as well.

I nuzzled the side of his neck. _Can you see in color?_

He nodded as well, and I brushed up next to him, surprised at how quickly I'd learned how to speak tiger. _You look nice._

_The red on your gold is an interesting accent I never thought I'd ever see in tiger fur. You radiate in wonder._

_Dang, _I twitched my ears for that.

He nuzzled my ear in tiger laughter.

_I'm going to go over there, _I said by backing away.

I trotted down the stairs, all the way past the movie room, through the back doors, and I ran and jumped into their pool.

"What the…!" I heard from the balcony.

I turned my tiger body around in the water and stared at Kelsey.

I wasn't mad at her anymore, even though I wanted to be.

I was about to climb out when Kishan and Ren jumped in after me, and we swam around for a while.

I told Kishan what I wanted to do, and he approved. He decided to come with me, however, just incase.

I shook off by the side of the pool, and Kishan shook off after me and we walked through the house and up the stairs.

I opened Kelsey's door with my nose with the help of Kishan's guidance. I trotted in, and I saw her out on the balcony, watching Ren swim alone in the pool.

I opened the balcony door and snuck out behind her.

I walked up next to her and brushed my back against her leg in a simple _can we talk? _Motion, but she didn't realize what I meant.

She looked down at me, and her eyes grew huge. "Obviously not a real tiger. Let me see you eyes. If your that girl, I swear, I'm going to laugh at you," Kelsey patted the cushioned couch with her hand and I hopped up.

She got down on one knee and looked into my eyes.

"Yup," she sighed. "These are _definitely _the eyes of death I looked into earlier this week. Is there anything you have to say for yourself?"

I nodded.

She said, "Do you think you can write some how?"

I nodded again.

"I'll be right back, then," she walked inside and I laid my chin on my paws and waited.

Kelsey came back a minute later with three pieces of paper and four crayons. "Try writing with these."

I picked up one of the crayons with my mouth and I start writing on the paper.

I finished and handed it back to her.

She read it out loud. "I'm sorry, Kelsey, for being such a stuck-up the past day. I just…didn't know how to deal with you. Or, anybody, really, who seemed like they cared. I've had a very rough life, and I don't know what it means to care or to be cared about," her expression softened, and I buried my face in my paws.

She continued, "I just really need to learn how. Again, I'm sorry.

"Oh, and by the way, he doesn't even remember your _name_!"

Her expression turned sour again, and she put the paper down. "I'll have to think about your apology, including its wholes. Goodnight, Stowaway. That's your new name, now," she whispered, and she opened the balcony door.

Instead of leaving, I picked up the crayon and wrote again.

She read it a loud again. "You think I'm sleeping in Ren's room again? I don't think so!"

She laughed. "Just, sleep out here, or on my floor," and she walked back inside herself.

I fell asleep on the balcony couch, wondering how much longer she could be mad at me.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so...that was that chapter. Thanks for reading. SOOOrry I kindasort of wasted your time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, Everyone!**

**So, I read over this story last week so I could write this chapter, and you know what I noticed?**

**My writing style is so different now! And my writing, if I may say so myself, is so much better now. SO much better now! Sorry, Past Me!**

**But, I hope you enjoy this as much as you guys have said you have in the reviews!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

Finding the Prophecy

The next morning I woke up and found myself in very different clothes then I was in the night before.

I sat up, stretched, and looked around.

I was outside on Kelsey's balcony. I was wearing a red tank top and golden jean shorts. Rather short, but modest. A red belt a similar color to my tank top was woven through the belt loops, and fastened around my waist.

I was barefoot.

I could hear the showering running from out here.

I scratched my head, opened the door into Kelsey's room, and stepped inside.

Kelsey wasn't in bed and her bathroom door was closed.

I left her room and wandered through the house. I found myself sitting by the edge of the pool, with my feet kicking back and forth in the water.

Everyone else in the house seemed rather preoccupied with things, so for the first time in a long time, I was finally alone.

I just thought. About Ren. About Kishan. About Kelsey. About Brandon Towers. My brother, Brandon Towers. Who had done so many great things in his life. Who probably didn't even remember my first name…

But, I didn't really know who I was. I mean, I had a name, but I was used to being, "Hey, Girl!" from down in the basement.

That kind of took a toll on someone after a while. No one caring for a long time. Twenty years of, "Hey!" or "Girl!" or stronger words.

I never thought of people to be caring. Greed got the best of people. Every time.

The water felt soothing on my legs. But water couldn't wash the memories away.

Nothing could.

_Catherine Delphinium Towers_. Everybody has a name. Most people share it. I didn't.

What would they call me? In all my daydreams and lucid dreams, my friends called me "Cathy" or "Ryn," even though my name wasn't spelled that way.

And then there was that time when I wanted to be someone else, and whenever someone demanded a name, I'd say my name was Delphinium. They called me "Delphi," like the Oracle.

I'd never thought too much about my name, my life. But sometimes I did. And I hated every second I thought about it.

Except when I thought about my brother. The article said he was twenty-three. I knew where he lived. I wanted to find him. I didn't know if he thought I was dead. I didn't know if he wanted to see me. I didn't know if he'd remember me.

I wanted him to remember me.

_Brandon and Catherine Towers_.

I couldn't remember the names of our parents. I couldn't remember what they looked like. But they had to look something like us, right?

I thought about Kelsey and Ren and Kishan again. I wanted them to like me. I was pretty sure Ren liked me. But I wasn't sure. And Kishan was confusing. I didn't understand him.

That whole thing in the kitchen I was supposed to forget about.

I wanted to be friends. He was obviously in love with Kelsey. The way he looked at her is enough.

But Ren was confused. It was obvious to see that. Obvious enough, anyway.

I wanted to find my brother and be out of their lives. That would be better for all of them.

I was about to stand up when I heard, "Haven't spoken to you in a while."

I stayed seated. Ren sat down next to me.

"Yeah," I nodded.

He was in his regular get up. White shirt. Bare feet.

"You're wearing something different," Ren commented.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Read and gold is kind of thing, I guess. With the whole, 'gold in blood' thing and everything."

"Does it hurt?" Ren's question surprised me.

"I didn't know about it until a couple days ago," I replied.

"Are you sure Lokesh didn't make you that way? Curse you in any other way then the tiger?"

I nodded. "I'm sure."

"But if you didn't know about it, then how-"

"Ren, everything is falling into place for me now," I put my hand on his arm to stop him. "I understand every problem in my life now. It's all because of the gold in my blood. Okay? I understand now. So please, don't doubt me, and don't push me."

He nodded.

"Well, I came to tell you that Kishan, Kelsey and I are going out," Ren whispered. He stood up and my arm dropped to the concrete.

"I don't want to come," I replied, and went back to staring at the clear, blue water.

He nodded. "I understand. But I thought you and Kelsey worked things out?"

"We did. I don't want to come."

Ren left after that. I looked up at Kelsey's balcony and saw her looking down at me.

I waved a fake kind of happy wave.

She rolled her eyes, smiled, then walked back inside.

"If only," I sighed. I was having second doubts about this whole, "getting out of their lives" thing. I wanted to, but I didn't know if I could actually do, when the time came.

They were the nicest people I'd met in my life so far. I mean, even Kelsey was nicer than the people I was prisoner for. She hadn't whipped me until I bled and cried.

I thought about what she did to my arm. I glanced at my elbow. There was a dark burn mark. I pulled my plastic knife out of my shoe and slit my skin up above my elbow. It bled and ran down my arm. I could see the gold and I watched it pour down my arm and I could feel it healing my elbow.

I smeared it around the cut I had made and watched it heal.

I got up, wiping the blood of my arm and walked inside. I wanted to talk to Mr. Kadam.

I walked into his study to find him working at his desk, with some of paper. He seemed to be copying.

"Whatcha doing, Mr. Kadam?" I asked.

"Decoding, Miss," he replied.

"Decoding what?" I inquired.

"It's a complex story," Mr. Kadam responded.

I backed off and looked around. I found a bunch of papers strewn around on the floor and on chairs. I picked up a paper that had a bunch of words I could never understand.

I fumbled with a couple more until I found one that caught my eye.

It was titled, "Wet Gold."

I began to read the words on the page:

_A drop of gold,_

_ A drop of blood._

_ A cup for poison;_

_ A half for love._

_ A smear for healing._

_ Three drops to save a life._

_ The one has power_

_ Entwined with strife._

_ The end is near,_

_ Approaching fast._

_ But for her the pain_

_ Will end at last._

I folded it up and put it in my pocket. I didn't want anyone to see that. _End at last_? I thought. _I don't…I don't want to die. Not yet_.

I left his study then and went to watch a movie in the movie room, waiting for Ren and Kishan and Kelsey to return.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Kadam, we're home! I'm going to take a shower!" Kelsey shouted angrily.<p>

"Hey, Stowaway," Kelsey muttered as she ran upstairs.

I had almost expected her to call me Catherine.

Ren and Kishan came in afterward.

Kishan plopped down on the couch next to me. Ren walked upstairs and mumbled, "Hey," to me before disappearing.

"I can feel the tension," I said. I raised an eyebrow at Kishan. "What's the problem?"

"Phet," Kishan sighed.

"What?" I asked.

"We went to go see a man named Phet out in the woods about Ren's memory loss. Apparently, Ren is blocking Kelsey out. It wasn't beaten out of it, like we thought it was." Kishan sighed and rolled his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.

"Please, he never got hit hard enough for that," I scoffed and looked back at the credits rolling by on the movie screen.

He opened one eye and looked over at me. "I forgot. You were there, too." He sat up and turned to me. "What happened?"

"Weird…weird stuff," I admitted. "Lots of weird stuff."

"Like…?" Kishan pressed.

"Whipping," I confessed. "Question and answer sessions. For him. Not for me. Me, it was just whipping. He didn't want to know anything about me.

"Some stabbing, too. Lots of blood drawn. Broken fingers. He was just looking for answers. 'Where is Kelsey Hayes?' The first day I saw him like this, he either said, 'I will never tell,' or nothing at all. Everyday after that, it was just, 'Kelsey who? I don't know who you're talking about!'"

I neglected to mention what I saw. What the woman said. The crazy…the crazy sad look on Ren's face. What he asked of me.

_Remember the name_.

"Did he ever get hit in the head?" Kishan asked.

"He wanted him conscious," I replied. "No, never."

I was faced with the memories. That defense of mine was down. Gone. I wasn't fighting anything anymore. Just…seeing. Everything that I went through in Lokesh's jacked-up torture house.

Everything Ren went through. Everything I had to see. Every scream I heard.

Every sadistic smile on Lokesh's twisted face.

I didn't know it until I felt Kishan's hand in my hair. I was screaming. I was screaming my lungs out. My throat felt raw. I couldn't see; my eyes were shut tight. I could feel the dampness of tears on my cheeks.

I could feel the pressure of my elbows pressing into my knees. My hand were pulling on my hair and I was still screaming and still crying.

I stopped screaming. I hiccupped my tears to a halt. I removed my hands from my hair. I looked up at Kishan. I stared at him, saying nothing. Shocked, by my own weakness.

His gold eyes were worried.

_Gold_.

I hiccupped again, and the tears started flowing. Silently this time. And Kishan engulfed me in a hug. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck. He ran a hand through my hair.

And I cried.

And I cried. I cried a crazy person's tears.

I was going crazy.

Wasn't I?

* * *

><p>An hour later, Mr. Kadam called Kishan, Ren and I into his study. Kelsey was already there. She looked pale.<p>

I still wasn't quite over my epidemic in the movie room. Kishan seemed to be the only one who heard; Ren had been in the shower, Kelsey had been in the shower, and Mr. Kadam had been in his study.

"I deciphered the Prophecy," Mr. Kadam said excitedly.

Kelsey mumbled, "Why are you excited? Dragons…"

"Dragons?" I asked. "What?"

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "I forgot: Tiger hearing."

"Please, don't be alarmed. I want to read it to you," Mr. Kadam responded.

"**Lustrous gems of blazon black**

**Once graced her satin'd skin.**

**A ruthless knave her neck ransack'd;**

**The strand sank deep within.**

**Now beads hide buried in the sea;**

**A brave one brings them out.**

**Deadly monsters bite and sting—**

**Too horrible to rout.**

**But trident wield, kamandal imbibe,**

**And the lady who weaves the silk**

**Will guide and guarantee you lay**

**The wreath on sea of milk.**

**Seek dragon kings of oceans five**

**From cardinal compass as you dive:**

**Red Dragon's stars move in astral time;**

**Blue Dragon's range points the way;**

**Green Dragon helps see through the clime;**

**Gold Dragon's town lies 'neath the waves;**

**White Dragon unlocks the door to icy lights.**

**Take her arms and wield them well**

**Her unblemish'd prize to win.**

**Capture the string with fluid power;**

**Head homeward once again.**

**Cool India's lands with precious dew;**

**River, stream, the rain will fill.**

**The dry land and the heart renew,**

**Else healing pow'r is latent still.**"

I was shocked still. _Dragons_.

"Off to Durga's temple we go, I guess," Kishan sighed.

_Durga_? I thought. I didn't trust myself to speak. I was too worried about what I might say.

_Dragons_.

* * *

><p><strong>NAME REVEALED.<strong>

**Sorry if I disappointed anyone with her name. Sorry it wasn't as exciting as you wanted it to be, if it wasn't. XP.**

**And what was up with that extra prophecy? ;)**

**I really hoped you guys enjoyed, and thanks so much for reading! Sorry I didn't update last week! I will try to make-up for it somehow.**

**Thanks for Reading!**


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